Study dissects Romney tax plan

WASHINGTON - Republican Mitt Romney's tax plan would increase taxes on low-income families while cutting taxes for the middle-class and the rich, according to an independent study released Thursday.

On average, households making less than $20,000 would see their taxes increase by more than 60 percent, said the Tax Policy Center, a Washington research group that studied the Romney plan.

Households making $50,000 to $75,000 would get small tax cuts, averaging 2.2 percent, or about $250, the study said. People making more than $1 million would get tax cuts averaging 15 percent, or about $146,000.

"Virtually everybody with a big income is getting a tax cut," said Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center.

Romney's campaign disputes the estimate, saying tax cuts in the plan would help improve the economy, leading to more revenue.

Romney's plan would cut the top corporate tax rate form 35 percent to 25 percent, eliminate investment taxes for the middle class and make permanent a massive package of tax cuts first enacted under President George W. Bush.